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. G. MORADELLI.

GAR GOUPLING Patented Mar. 10 1896iv (No Model.) 5 s eeeeeeeeeee z.

C. MORADELLI.

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C. MORADELLI. GAR coUPLING.

' No. 556,018. Patented Mar. 4.10, 18916.

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`UMORADBLLL' CAR GQUPLING.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 5. C, MORADELLI.

A GAR ooUPLING. No. 556,018. Patented Mar. v10, 1896.

Nrn STATES FFICEo CARL MORADELLI, OF MUNICH, GERMANY.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 556,018, dated March 10, 1896.

Application lecl January 16,1895. Serial No. 535,145. (No model.)

To all whom il; may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL MORADELLI, a subject of the King of Bavaria, and a resident of Munich, in the Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire,have invented a certain new and useful Device for Disconnecting Railway- Cars, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The present invention consists of a device for disconnecting a train at any point, by means of electricity, from the locomotive; and in order to make the present specification more easily intelligible reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters and iigures denote similar parts throughout the several views.

Figure l is a side elevation of a coupling, showing the connection of the coupling-hook with an angle-lever worked by the armature of an eleetromagnet; Fig. 2, a plan of two car ends, showing the conductors arranged between the same. Fig. 3 is a general arrangement showing a car coupled at both ends. Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic arrangement of three cars and their electric connections to the switchboard and the dynamo-machine. Fig. 5 shows the arrangement of conductors having movable contact-heads, the bearingsleeve being in longitudinal section. Figs. 6 and '7 are longitudinal and cross sections, respectively, of a contact -head drawn to a larger scale. Fig. 8 shows a cross -section through two contacting heads.

The coupling-hooks ff are pivoted to the ends of the cars at f and provided with rearwardly-extending arms f2, with which a roll g at the end of an angle-lever c, pivoted at c underneath the car, engages. The lower arm of the said lever is connected by means of a rod CZ to the armature of an electromagnet l) arranged, as shown at Fig. 4l, underneath the car. Obviously if the electromagnet b is eX- cited it will attract the armature and turn the angle-lever c on its pivot, thus depressing by means of the roll g the arm f2 of the coupling-hookf, and if the corresponding magnets of two coupled cars are excited simultaneously both the hooks will be raised simultaneously from their connecting-links f3, and the two cars will be uncoupled. In order to effeet such uncoupling from the locomotive or any other part of the train, the conductors connecting up all the magnets individually with the dynamo and with a suitably-arran ged switchboard are provided, as shown diagrammatically at Fig. 4.

Each car must be provided with twice as many conductors as there are cars in the train. Thus, as shown clearly at Fig. 4, the conductors of the last eleetromagnet will pass along all the cars without interfering with the cond uctors of the other ears leading to the switchboard B, which may be of any suitable construction and situated on the locomotive or at any other desired point of the train. Suitable connections are provided from the switchboard to the dynamo A, which is advantageously mounted on the engine.

l, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 represent the switches.

The operation of the device will be evident from Fig. fl of the drawings. Supposing switches l and 2 are operated, they will excite the magnets l) b of the contacting ends of the iirst and second cars from the locomotive. The hooks connecting these cars will be thrown up and the train disconnected at this point. By means of the other switches the train may be disconnected at other points.

I will now proceed to describe the way in which the conductors keep contact between the cars. rlhe conductors consist of steel or iron rods extending underneath the cars and having their ends loosely mounted in suitable casing h at the car ends. The rods are insulated and provided at their ends with enlarged cylindrical contact-heads a, having advantageously-pointed heads, as shown at Fig. 6. These heads are of such diameter that when the cars are run togetherthey will contact with the corresponding heads of the opposite car whatever the variation in the height of the two cars, due to varying loads, may be. Being elastically mounted they will push by one another and contact gently, lying side by side. The ends of the conductors may, however, be rigidly mounted in the ear ends or easings h and the contact-heads be made to swing on said conductor ends, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. In this case the head a is provided with interior bearings a a2, through which the end of the conductor-rod extends, Fig. 6, on which the said head is free to rotate. As the bearings are eceentrically arranged, the heads will always fall into the po- ICO sition shown at Fig. 7 'when free to rotate. Thus, as shown in Fig. 8, when two cars are run together they Will contact by means of their own Weight, either as shoWn at Fig. 8 0r as shown in dotted lines in this figure, When the rods happen to be somewhat farther apart.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination of electromagnets ZJ b arranged underneath each car, separate con:- ductors from the magnets of each car to the locomotive or other part lof the train, a dynamo and means for connecting same to any one of said car-magnets, armatures to said magnets and means in connection With same to operate car-hooks when the magnets are excited7 free-lying conductor ends at the end of each car, elastically mounted and having cylindrical contact-heads h With conicall'ypointed ends inthe manner and ior thek pur pose substantially as described.

2. In a railway train the combination of magnets arranged underneath the cars, means for connecting4 said magnets to the couplinghooks by armatures and lever connections, to raise said coupling-hooks When the magnet is excited, means for exciting each magnet separately from a given point of the train, and free-lying insulated conductors extending underneath the cars, and having at their free ends cylindrical contacting heads, ec-

centrically mounted to rotate on said conductor ends, and having pointed front ends in themanner and for the'purpose substantially as described and shown.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of tWo subscribing Witnesses.

CARL MORADEIQLI.

Witnesses U. IVI. NERMBERG, JOHN B; JACKSON. 

